iPhone 15: what we know so far
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Time stops for no one, and so we’re already looking towards the iPhone 15, despite the fact that the iPhone 14 has only just been unveiled.
The iPhone 15 will likely be along in late 2023, unless Apple pulls a wildcard by using the ’14S’ name or something similar. That seems unlikely though, as we’ve already been hearing leaks and rumors using the iPhone 15 name.
Yes, that’s right – pre-release information about the upcoming iPhone is already out there, this far in advance. That’s not a total surprise, as Apple leaks sometimes take place years in advance of the product launch.
To give you a (very early) idea as to how the upcoming phone – as well as its family of siblings – will look, we’ve compiled all the news, rumors and predictions here. Expect this article to see many updates between late 2022 and September 2023.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? Apple’s 2023 generation of smartphones
- When is it out? Likely September 2023
- How much will it cost? Possible price increase over iPhone 14
iPhone 15 release date
We haven’t heard any iPhone 15 release date or launch date rumors yet, but that’s to be expected – they rarely occur more than a month before the launch event itself.
For the iPhone 14, that event fell on September 7, with three of the four phones going on sale over a week later, on September 16 (and the iPhone 14 Plus on October 7). Apple generally picks the first or second week of September for its launches, and usually opts for a Tuesday, though occasionally goes for a Wednesday event.
In 2023, that means September the 5 or 12 are quite likely (both are Tuesdays), though the 6 and 13 are possibilities too.
iPhone 15 price
With regards to the price, again we haven’t heard many leaks or rumors, but the iPhone 14 range presented a slight price increase over the iPhone 13 equivalents. This could be repeated in 2023 for the iPhone 15.
For context, while there are four members of the iPhone 14 family, here are the prices for the cheapest, and most expensive, options:
- iPhone 14 128GB: $799 / £849 / AU$1,399
- iPhone 14 Pro Max 1TB: $1,599 / £1,749 / AU$2,769
So that’s the full scope of the current range’s pricing, though obviously there are many devices and storage choices between those points.
As for the iPhone 15 line, one price rumor points to the iPhone 15 Ultra – a new phone that could land in place of an iPhone 15 Pro Max – starting at $1,199 (likely around £1,309 / AU$2,099 based on Apple’s typical pricing) at best.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at $1,099 / £1,199 / AU$1,899, so if accurate the next model would be at least $100 more expensive.
However, the iPhone 15 Plus might be cheaper than the iPhone 14 Plus according to a leak. This change would be because the iPhone 14 Plus isn’t selling brilliantly. For reference, the iPhone 14 Plus starts at $899 / £949 / AU$1,579.
iPhone 15 news, rumors and leaks
We’ve heard quite a few iPhone 15 rumors, though these have come out across a very broad span of time, so it’s not quite clear which are still accurate and which are old news.
Some of these seem obvious – one report says that Apple is working on the 3nm A17 Bionic chip for the iPhone 15. Given that the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max use the A16 Bionic, and that 17 is one higher than 16, we could have guessed this anyway.
One report goes into more detail though, saying that the A17 Bionic should be more efficient than the A16 Bionic, which would likely lead to improved battery life.
However, the iPhone 14 used the older A15 Bionic chip, also seen in the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, and another report suggests that this new trend – of the non-Pro phones using the older chipsets – may well continue. That’s a claim we’ve heard multiple times, so in other words the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus might use an A16 Bionic.
Sticking with chipsets, it seems likely that Qualcomm will be supplying the 5G modem again. The Snapdragon X70 looks certain to get picked, offering improved performance from the Snapdragon X65 in the iPhone 14.
As for the other specs, we’ve heard predictions that the Pro models are going to make the jump to 8GB of RAM with the iPhone 15, and will also come with periscope cameras that should improve the telephoto zoom capabilities.
That’s not the only possible camera upgrade though, with another source saying a new Sony sensor will be used, one that’s state-of-the-art, captures more light than current sensors, and avoids overexposing or underexposing shots.
Plus, all four models might have a 48MP main sensor according to analyst Jeff Pu (via 9to5Mac (opens in new tab)), which would be an upgrade for the cheapest two.
We might also see a USB-C port on every iPhone 15 model. The EU has told Apple that it has to add USB-C charging ports to iPhones from 2024, but lots of fans believe that Apple will adopt the charging standard earlier, in 2023, instead – and at least one leak points in that direction.
More recently we’ve heard another reputable source say the entire iPhone 15 line will get USB-C, but they added that only the Pro models will offer upgraded data transfer speeds.
These two phones could apparently have data transfer speeds of either 20Gbps or 40Gbps, while the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Max would reportedly be stuck with the same 480Mbps speeds as the current models.
Saying that, some fans are hoping that Apple doesn’t ditch its own Lightning port any time soon, even suggesting that the company could unveil a totally portless iPhone first.
That’s looking unlikely though as Apple has now confirmed that it will switch to USB-C – at least in Europe, though the company hasn’t said whether it will make the change globally. Nor has it said which model will be the first iPhone to get USB-C, so it might not be the iPhone 15.
A big iPhone 14 Pro feature is that ‘Dynamic Island’, a fancy marketing name for the ‘punch-hole’ front-facing camera that Apple is using, and a leak suggests that the non-Pro iPhone 15 models could get this too.
We’ve also more recently heard from elsewhere that every iPhone 15 model will get the Dynamic Island – but that the standard phone and the iPhone 15 Plus will be stuck with a 60Hz screen still.
Contradicting that Dynamic Island claim, though, is the belief from some that the iPhone 15 series could use under-display cameras, that sit below the phone screen to ensure no display space is taken up. However, at TechRadar, we’re not too sure about this one.
For the last few generations of iPhone, Apple has split the line into the ‘standard’ and ‘Pro’ ranges, with the latter bringing more features over the former; within each range, the only major difference is the screen size. But with the iPhone 15, the Pro models could be even more fractured, as it sounds like the ‘Pro Max’ is moving on.
A big leaker suggests that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will actually be called the iPhone 15 Ultra – following on from Apple’s adoption of this suffix elsewhere – and will bring extra features over the iPhone 15 Pro.
A key example listed is in the camera department, as while the iPhone 15 Pro is expected to retain the telephoto zoom lens of the 14 Pro, the iPhone 15 Ultra is rumored to get a periscope lens for even further zooming, likely around 5x. We’ve actually heard this quite a few times now, from various sources, making it sound very likely.
We’ve also heard from leaker LeaksApplePro (opens in new tab), that the iPhone 15 Ultra might have a titanium build, which should be both lighter and stronger than the stainless steel that’s used on current Pro models.
A similar claim has been made by another source, though they were less specific about which models might use titanium. They added though that the sides might curve towards the back of the phone on the iPhone 15 line, rather than being a right angle like with the iPhone 14.
These curved sides are still being decided on by Apple though according to another source, so there’s a chance they won’t happen.
Another rumor suggests that all four iPhone 15 models are going to get slightly curved edges – so we might be heading back to the iPhone 11 look – while the Pro and Pro Max (or Ultra) phones will have thinner bezels too.
Also on the design front, the iPhone 15 Pro – and likely also Ultra – could get solid-state volume and power buttons that don’t physically move.
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